Woohoo, my fastest morning leg this morning. On Wednesday it was 42 degrees and I vowed that my winter pants riding was over for the season. It was chilly but damned if I was going to throw those things on again. Well, this morning it was 34 degrees with frost all over everything. Great. It was close, I even pulled them out and started putting them on. Screw it! Shorts FTMFW! For the first mile or so I was thinking I might have to go back and put them on but once I really got going I was warm enough, even had to unzip my top layers to keep from sweating too much. Thankfully there was no wind, otherwise I would have had to put the pants on.

I Didn't get hit, always nice, but a lot of hookers (er... the car-turning-right kind) this morning. I didn't have to take any evasive action or braking so they weren't that close but it was discourteous. Beggers can't be choosers I guess.

The sun was shining and the sky was blue,
so I rode my bike cuz it's the thing to do.
Since nobody smushed me I'm still alive
On days like this I wonder why they drive.

They can definitely be distracting.

I looked at the forecast this morning and it looks like this cold rainy crap is clearing faster than they thought - we might even see some sun tomorrow! (which is good because I'm taking my Girl Guides out for a bike hike along the river, get them out and moving!)

I sincerely regretted parking my bike at work last night. I really should have pushed home - the wind would have been behind me, and today there wasn't that headwind. Also realized partway home (on transit) that I had worked late enough (6:00) to have ridden to the train station and taken the bike home that way if I was tired... d'oh. I'm too used to travelling during peak hours when no bikes are allowed on the train. Live and learn!

6.5 hours till I can ride home...

I'm still commuting - in fact this week I rode to work all 5 days, a first for me. Hopefully that will become more routine.

M-Th the weather was great and I rode my freshly restored 1970s road bike. On Tuesday I did a 25 mile evening ride after work on the Capital City Trail, and yesterday evening I took a detour home through the University of Wisconsin Arboretum. Pure pleasure.

Today there's a chance of rain, so I rode my everyday commuter bike.

Last nights ride home was great. I hit 500 miles bike commuting in 2007.

Rode home through a terrible thunderstorm last night. It wouldn't have helped to wait - it poured for about 4 hours straight.

There's a point where you get so wet, it just doesn't matter any more. Thankfully I reached that point before a passing car splashed a wall of water over me. I saw it coming, and there was nothing I could do. I wish I had a picture, it was like a cartoon.

Nice- I hit 500 commuting earlier this week as well, very unevenly distrbuted though.
117 Jan, 39 Feb, 156 Mar, 182 Apr, 39 May (3 days of 4 so far)

This morning, I think most of the moisture captured in my HHCMFshirt was the collection of humidity rather than sweat. Had to take the quick route, still a few streets of my fun route covered in water. Stupid rain.

Yikes! I can wear shorts down to the mid 30s. However, my performance suffers and my legs start hurting. If you are the type who rides in lycra, leg warmers are wonderful for the temps you mentioned. However, below 40 I put a lightweight pair of tights on top of them. Below freezing I leave the leg warmers at home and use a heavier performance tights.
I did see a guy riding in normal shorts with either tights or leg warmers the other day.
A certain amount of compression and warm legs help quite a bit in my experience. As an experiment one day at 45F I rode with just shorts. Later in the ride I added leg warmers. My speed picked up a tad. Nothing scientific. Just my experience. YMMV

Watch out for the hookers. :p


My ride this morning was nice and uneventful. I am still working at adapting to the tarmac. God the high gears kill me!

Last night was an unpleasant battle against the wind (you know it is bad when you are fighting to go downhill), but this morning was sunny and not too cold and almost wind-free. I had a fast run and could really feel the improvement from the extra riding I've been doing.

Nasty, nasty headwind. Dragging anchor all the way home. I was reeling in a couple hard core-looking roadies and they turned around and came back past me! Chickens. :p I had to settle for reeling in the odd MTBer here and there. Saw a pretty sealpoint siamese (cat) cross the street in front of me.

Jan 106, Feb 109, Mar 90, Apr 176, May 22

I went from 3 one way 11 mile commutes/week to two 22 mile round trip commutes/week, next step is 3 round trip commutes/week

Awesome ride both ways. Chilly...very chilly for May

Very pleasant. I got to share part of it with everyone's favorite Russian Supermodel - randya. :)

Had a nice ride home in the rain... was more pleasant than I expected! The temperature was just right and I didn't get too badly splattered, so I may not need fenders. After a certain point you can't get wetter than wet, anyway :P

it was good, besides the light rain. i just got my marmot zephyr in so i was worrried how that was going to hold up. I love the bag but hate the hats i own(they nick the backpack) but i will buy some coolmax hats customize them...overall the rain felt refreshing,.

tell me about it...thats a weeks worth of red beans and rice

I'm wondering if anyone else has the same problem...........my actual commute is 15.8 miles one way but due to dangerous road conditions, the last 5 miles to work must be driven by car. On Monday, I drive out to work and on the way home Monday night, I park my car at a secured location and leave it there for the rest of the week. I ride the first 10 miles to work, jump in my car and finish the commute. On Friday, I ride out as normal but drive the car home that night. It's not ideal but it beats driving the whole way. Last year I tried to ride the entire way............unless I have a flag car behind me, I'll never risk my life like that again!

I normallyuse my touring bike for the commute but yesterday, with a light load and nice weather, I jumped on the road bike and it was like driving a race car. Normal commute to the bus barn is about 33 minutes but today we clocked 25:52 at a speed of just over 21 mph. Felt Great!!!!

I just started commuting to work by bike just over a week ago. Yesterday it was quite chilly with a light wind. I only have a short commute - 2 1/2 miles. I did my fastest time yesterday - 16 minutes - and that included a stop at the shop. Not bad for a 50 year old Born Again Cyclist:)

Going home is uphill all the way (some of it quite steep). Took me 20 minutes to get home. I went all the way uphill in 2nd highest gear. No wonder my legs felt like lead weights. I had new tyres fitted the other day and the guy who fitted the tyres (I didn't know how to) messed with my derailleur and it is now very difficult to get into gear and the bike changes gear itself now. I haven't got a clue how to fix it but I wish I could get it back to how it was. My bike's a Raleigh Impulse Ladies Racer from circa early 1980's and has the old-fashioned friction shift (Huret gears).

Yesterday was great. I had the day off. Biked w/ my 5 yr old to his K, then home, then biked w/ my wife to her job (~1 mile closer to home than mine). Biked around another 25ish miles for the heck of it, then home, picked up 5 yr old, biked over for ice cream after his 0.5 day of school, then back home and on w/ the rest of the day.

Today had someone yell something from a pickup. Sounded like "HEY! mumble mumble mumble..." I just smiled and waved. Whatever. Then a car of young guys pulled up next to me and I figured more of the same. But instead I got a hello and a compliment for riding. I need to not assume the worst. Most people are good. Today sucked on many levels, but the ride was good. Days like today I NEED the ride.

40F, sunny, very light headwind. Nice ride again. I reeled in and passed a Wilma (female Fred, complete with milk crate on rack) and reeled in a dude on a hybrid, then split off the MUP and onto the streets shortly after.

It's "Way to Go week", where people are encouraged to avoid driving to work.

I had a 15-25 mph tail wind on the way to work today !

Hot damn I was flying on the fixed gear ! HAHAHA

Brrrrr, bloody cold! We are getting some rain this week too. Seems tuesday to friday will be rain. I hope it doesn't put a dampener on riding. This morning was cold but the ride was nice. Calm morning. Annoying old man feeding squirrels was out feeding them in the middle of the path...... So not sure how to handle that one. He has already almost cost me to hit a chipmunk on a previous encounter. Other than that it was smooth sailing and I made good time.

Cold. Again. I wussed out and put on the winter riding pants I swore I wouldn't use until next fall. Damn. The high today is 70 but it was 34 again when I left my house. However, I only got about 7 miles before I had to take the pants off, I was starting to get too warm and I don't want to sweat on my ride in. At about 30mph my knees were feeling a bit crisp but the sun was shining, traffic was light, and there was no wind. Doesn't get much more pleasant than that. I was trying to take it easy today and just enjoy the ride and I mostly succeeded. Caught myself a few times in the aero bars and had to remind myself I wasn't in a race! Averaged 14.8 @1:30 which is pretty good for me. Saw a young deer on the canal trail, still had the little white spots, ran along the trail next to me for a few dozen yards. That was cool.


I'm still slow enough that I don't think it matters yet. My legs don't hurt at all (er.. from the cold) and the only time they get cold is on fast decents (30+), and even then it's mostly just my knees. Keep in mind though this is in ideal yet cold conditions, sun shining, no wind, etc. However, if there is any wind at all in these temps I make sure not to screw around and make sure any exposed skin is covered. I may be dumb but I'm not stupid. :p ;)

First morning back to work after a week of vacation. The 20 mile interval training I did last night meant this morning was a slow ride. Weather was a little chilly, but this afternoon looks promising.

:D 12C! I rode in shorts and a t-shirt! :D

You aren't that slow. :)
Anyhow, I am stupid and have ridden with exposed skin. It always seems windy around here.
I just love my warmers.


Friday's return home commute had a moderate rain the entire time. That is until .5 miles from my house. ARGH! 50-55F and completely soaked. Plus, I took the wrong bike and did not have fenders. My sidis were completely waterlogged. Such fun. If the rain had let up earlier I could have dried out. The end result was very cold feet and I had to keep riding to stay warm. No biggie. I have had worse.

This morning's commute was with a slight headwind and drizzle. I fit in a few intervals and sprints to make it a bit more fun. I also started sprinting up a few hills that have killed me for the last couple of years. They have become much easier lately. A hill sprint or interval is exhausting but I managed one on my steepest hill at 18 mph. ugh That lasted about 20 secs.

Bought an older Fuji road bike on Friday to use as my commuter since my road bike is still going through the warranty process. Put new pedals on it yesterday and had my first ride in on it today. It was a great ride, took me awhile to get used to shifting but was getting it by the end. It rides smooth and fast which is exactly what I was looking for. Cool and windy this morning, temps in the low 40s. Gusts up to 35 for this afternoon, I hope I am riding with it.